This invention relates to a method of hook and line fishing called trolling, and more particularly to trolling deep water, i.e., water 30 to 40 feet deep to several hundreds of feet deep. In recent times deep trolling is done with a machine called a downrigger, which is mounted on the gunwale around the after portion i.e., cockpit of the fishing boat, as illustrated in FIG. 1 herein.
FIG. 1 shows a fisherman engaged in trolling from the cockpit of a boat 18 using apparatus including a downrigger and a regular fishing rod and reel, which are typically employed together. The downrigger is mounted on the gunwale of the boat and includes a special reel 16, which may be either hand-cranked or alternately operated by electric motor. The reel 16 is loaded with a strong, flexible steel line 15 which is strung over a pulley at the end of a stiff horizontal steel rod 17, pointing backwards. The line continues down into the water to a chosen depth, where hopefully the fish are, and where the line is connected to a heavy ball 13 weighing probably 10 to 15 pounds. There are no fish hooks nor lures connected directly to this line, so it has come to be called a dummy line. Its purpose is to support the ball as it is reeled up or down to position the ball at the chosen depth. The purpose of such a heavy ball, which is a sinker, is to carry the trolling tail part of the fishing line down to the chosen depth for trolling and to hold the leading end of the trolling line at that depth and as directly under the back part of the boat as possible, as the boat moves forward. The leading point on the trolling line is tethered to the ball and thirty to forty yards of the fishing line is trolled behind the ball, terminating with the lure 11. The trolling line may be tethered to the ball with any one of several means which provide a joint which will allow the trolling line to slip or break lose from the ball whenever the lure is attacked by a fish, or hung on underwater bottom structure. The tethering system illustrated in FIG. 1 consists of a hook shaped hitch fixed to the ball, and a closed (endless) rubber band wrapped around the fishing line, forming two loops which are then slipped over the hook shaped hitch on the ball.
Normally, a hooked fish will separate the fishing line away from the hitch on the ball, leaving the fish unencumbered by any heavy weight or sinker, giving the fisherman a tougher and more sporting contest before the fish is finally brought into the boat.
The next step is for the fisherman, utilizing the downrigger reel, to wind the dummy line in, raising the ball, and taking the ball and line aboard. The next step is to reattach the proper point on the fishing line to the hitch on the ball. The ball is then eased overboard with the dummy line and allowed to sink down again to the trolling level, carefully playing out fishing line and dummy line at the same rate. This cycle of raising and lowering the ball and dummy line must be repeated each time the lure catches a fish, or is hung on bottom structure.
The above described procedure constitutes the prior art of downrigger or dummy line type trolling for fish. It is productive of fish from water of considerable depth, not otherwise so readily accomplished.
It should be obvious that, with all of its advantages, the aforementioned art of downrigger trolling as now practiced, is repetitiously cumbersome, laborious, and time consuming, inasmuch as the heavy ball and long dummy line must be raised, the fishing line reattached to the ball, and the ball then re-lowered with the dummy line and fishing line, each time a fish is caught or for any other reason the trolling line separates from its hitch on the ball. The built-in laborious, time consuming procedure is quite disadvantageous, and elimination of all or nearly all of it would greatly facilitate and improve the downrigger method of deep trolling, and such an improvement should accelerate the ongoing increase in popularity of this method of trolling.